146

he lied, neither speaking by prophecy for the Holy Spirit did not speak in them nor having even one pretext from the truth of the prophets and gospels. But the refutation of all these things of the falsely named knowledge is the same argument of truth spoken against the first ones. For all these, belonging to the school of Valentinus and those before him, and having interpreted his mind, each in a different way, will incur the same shame as them. For this Colorbasus also came bringing us a great deceit of empty talk. For he attacked us by inventing for the incomprehensible and invisible and holy God, the Father of all, the name Man, in order that he might couple to his own error the word of the Savior who calls himself Son of Man and might transfer the thought of those who follow him from the true and most clear confession of Christ about himself to perplexity and to the empty talk † of seeking, supposing there to be in the heavenly realms 2.42 what is not. For let us grant that he calls himself Son of Man because his Father somewhere above is called Man, and not from the flesh which he took from a virgin's womb, that is, being born from Mary the holy one through the Holy Spirit, according to the argument of this wretched Colorbasus, -what would he say about that which our same Lord Jesus Christ says, as he said to the Jews, "but now you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you, which I heard from my Father"; and here he no longer said, "from my Father, the man," but while confessing the Father, he indicated the God of all, and concerning himself, that he became man in truth, he called himself a man; as the apostles also say, so that the truth may be established from every side and it may be known from where the names joined to the Lord are, "Jesus, a man attested to us by signs and wonders" and so forth. What then would you say to these things? O most wretched of all men, since you have come from above bringing us new names and you pride yourself on having dared to attach the name of man to the very Lord of all and Father of all, as if from this the Lord is called Son of Man because the Father is called Man. Find for us also some other designation for the Father corresponding to "a man attested"; but you could never find one. For even if a male is a human being and in contradistinction to woman we call the human being a male, nevertheless you would not be able to contrive anything in this either. For without forms and members, both secret and visible, he will not be able to be called a male. For we also call a woman a human being, but not a male. Therefore we say both "the [masculine] human being" and "the [feminine] human being." But when we divide the genus specifically, we call the female a woman, and the masculine a male. For this is the distinction of the masculine and feminine genus, "male" and "woman," with the relation of the genera being divided. But both the male and the woman are called "human being" homonymously. 3. Since these things are so, come to me, all you servants of God, you lovers of truth, and laugh at the deceiver and cheat 2.43 Colorbasus, or rather mourn for those who have been deceived and have destroyed both themselves and many others. But let us ourselves give thanks to God, that through small and simple words truth is accustomed to guide her sons into a straight path and the stubborn and boastful things, embellished through much contrivance, it scatters, overturns, and makes disappear, proceeding quietly, as it is possible to see clearly from the prophetic word. For the prophet, accusing those who busy themselves with terrible things and devise much talk for their own deception, said, "because you do not want the water of Siloam that goes softly, the Lord brings up upon you the water of the river, the king of the Assyrians." For the water of Siloam is the teaching

146

ἐψευδολόγησεν, οὔτε κατὰ προφητείαν φθεγγόμενος οὐ γὰρ πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐλάλησεν ἐν αὐτοῖς οὔτε ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν προφητῶν καὶ εὐαγγελίων ἀληθείας κἂν μίαν πρόφασιν ἐσχηκώς. ἀνατροπὴ δὲ τούτων πάντων τῆς ψευδωνύμου γνώσεως ὁ αὐτὸς τῆς ἀληθείας κατὰ τῶν πρώτων ῥηθεὶς λόγος. τῆς γὰρ Οὐαλεντίνου σχολῆς καὶ τῶν πρὸ αὐτοῦ οὗτοι πάντες ὑπάρχοντες καὶ τὸν νοῦν ἐκείνου ἄλλως ἄλλος ἐξηγησάμενοι, τὴν ἴσην αὐτοῖς ὀφλήσουσιν αἰσχύνην. μεγάλην γὰρ ἡμῖν ἀπάτην κενοφωνίας καὶ οὗτος ὁ Κολόρβασος ἧκεν φέρων. ἐπέθετο γὰρ ἡμῖν ποιητευσάμενος τῷ ἀκαταλήπτῳ καὶ ἀοράτῳ καὶ ἁγίῳ θεῷ τῷ πατρὶ τῶν ὅλων ὄνομα Ἄνθρωπος, ἵνα συζεύξῃ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ πλάνῃ τὸν τοῦ σωτῆρος λόγον φάσκοντος ἑαυτὸν υἱὸν Ἀνθρώπου καὶ μεταγάγῃ τὴν διάνοιαν τῶν αὐτῷ χρησαμένων ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθινῆς καὶ ἐναργεστάτης τοῦ Χριστοῦ περὶ αὑτοῦ ὁμολογίας εἰς ἀμηχανίαν καὶ εἰς κενοφωνίαν † τοῦ ζητεῖν, ὑπολαμβάνοντας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρα2.42 νίοις εἶναι ὃ μὴ ἔστι. δῶμεν γὰρ αὐτὸν διὰ τὸ τὸν ἄνω που αὐτοῦ πατέρα Ἄνθρωπον καλεῖσθαι υἱὸν Ἀνθρώπου ἑαυτὸν ὀνομάζειν καὶ οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς σαρκὸς ἧς ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ παρθενικῆς μήτρας τουτέστιν ἀπὸ Μαρίας τῆς ἁγίας γεννηθεὶς διὰ πνεύματος ἁγίου κατὰ τὸν τοῦ ἐλεεινοῦ Κολορβάσου τούτου λόγον, -τί ἂν εἴποι περὶ οὗ ὁ αὐτὸς κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός φησιν, ὡς τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἔλεγεν «νῦν δέ με ζητεῖτε ἀποκτεῖναι ἄνθρωπον, ὃς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὑμῖν λελάληκα, ἣν ἤκουσα παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου»· καὶ οὐκέτι ἐνταῦθα εἶπεν, τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πατρός μου, ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν πατρὸς ὁμολογῶν θεὸν τὸν τῶν ὅλων ἐσήμανεν, περὶ δὲ ἑαυτοῦ, ὅτι ἐνηνθρώπησεν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, ἄνθρωπον ἑαυτὸν ἔφασκεν· ὡς καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοί φασιν, ἵνα ἡ ἀλήθεια πανταχόθεν συσταθῇ καὶ γνωσθῇ πόθεν ἐστὶν τὰ τῷ κυρίῳ ὀνόματα συναφθέντα «Ἰησοῦν ἄνδρα ἀποδεδειγμένον εἰς ἡμᾶς σημείοις καὶ τέρασι» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. τί τοίνυν πρὸς ταῦτα φαίης ἄν. ὦ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐλεεινότατε, ἐπειδὴ ἄνωθεν ἥκεις φέρων ἡμῖν καινὰς ὀνομασίας καὶ σεμνύνῃ ἐφ' οἷς τὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὄνομα αὐτῷ τῷ πάντων δεσπότῃ καὶ πατρὶ τῶν ὅλων προσάψαι ἐτόλμησας, ὡς ἐκ τούτου καλεῖσθαι τὸν κύριον υἱὸν Ἀνθρώπου διὰ τὸ τὸν πατέρα Ἄνθρωπον καλεῖσθαι. εὑρὲ ἡμῖν καί τινα ἄλλην προσηγορίαν τῷ πατρὶ ἁρμόζουσαν κατὰ τό «ἄνδρα ἀποδεδειγμένον»· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἂν εὕροις ποτέ. εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἀνὴρ ἄνθρωπός ἐστι καὶ πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν τῆς γυναικὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἄνδρα καλοῦμεν, ὅμως οὐκ ἂν καὶ ἐν τούτῳ μηχανήσασθαί τι δυνηθείης. ἄνευ γὰρ σχημάτων καὶ μελῶν κρυφίων τε καὶ ὁρατῶν ἀνὴρ οὐ δυνήσεται καλεῖσθαι. λέγομεν γὰρ καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἄνδρα. διὸ καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος λέγομεν καὶ ἡ ἄνθρωπος. διαιροῦντες δὲ τὸ γένος ἰδιαζόντως τὴν μὲν θήλειαν γυναῖκα καλοῦμεν, τὸν δὲ ἄρρενα ἄνδρα. αὕτη γὰρ διάκρισίς ἐστι τοῦ γένους ἄρρενος καὶ θηλείας, τὸ ἀνὴρ καὶ γυνή, διαιρουμένης τῆς τῶν γενῶν σχέσεως. ὁμωνυμικῶς δὲ ἄνθρωπος καὶ ὁ ἀνὴρ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ καλεῖται. 3. Τούτων τοίνυν οὕτως ἐχόντων ἥκετέ μοι πάντες θεοῦ δοῦλοι, οἱ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐρασταί, καὶ γελάσατε τὸν ἀπατεῶνα καὶ ἀγύρ2.43 την Κολόρβασον, μᾶλλον δὲ πενθήσατε τοὺς ἀπατηθέντας καὶ ἑαυτοὺς καὶ πολλοὺς ἀπολέσαντας. αὐτοὶ δὲ θεῷ εὐχαριστήσωμεν, ὡς διὰ μικρῶν καὶ ἁπλῶν λόγων ἡ ἀλήθεια τοὺς αὐτῆς υἱοὺς εἰς ὁδὸν εὐθεῖαν ὁδηγεῖν εἴωθεν καὶ τὰ σχέτλια καὶ πολύκομπα, διὰ πολλῆς μηχανῆς καλλωπισθέντα, διασκεδάννυσιν ἀνατρέπει τε καὶ ἀφανίζει, ἡσυχῆ βαίνουσα, ὡς σαφῶς ἔστιν ἰδεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ προφητικοῦ λόγου. ἐγκαλῶν γὰρ ὁ προφήτης τοῖς τὰ δεινὰ περιεργαζομένοις καὶ πολύφημα ἐπινοοῦσιν εἰς ἑαυτῶν ἀπάτην ἔλεγεν «διὰ τὸ μὴ θέλειν ὑμᾶς τὸ ὕδωρ τοῦ Σιλωὰμ τὸ πορευόμενον ἡσυχῆ, ἀνάγει ἐφ' ὑμᾶς κύριος τὸ ὕδωρ τοῦ ποταμοῦ, τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Ἀσσυρίων». ὕδωρ γὰρ Σιλωὰμ ἐστὶν διδασκαλία